>> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. nbc bay area news starts now. >> right now at 11:00, the video that has outraged people nationwide. dog abuse caught on camera. now the local effort to catch a woman who did it. a bitter cold night with no heat. that's what thousands of bay area residents are facing. we'll show you how they're coping. a live look at san jose right now. we have rain in the forecast for bay area. what you can expect for tomorrow morning's commute. good evening, everyone. i'm terry mcsweeney. >> and i'm peggy bunker. we start with that developing story in discovery bay. as the sign here says, 6200 people do not have access to gas heat right now. you can blame this near freezing weather for that.

tonight pg&e crews are in discovery bay, scrambling to restore those gas lines, as temperatures are expected to dip into the low 30s overnight. the timing here really couldn't be worse as christie smith will tell us. live now from discovery bay, christie, how are people there faring tonight? >> reporter: well, they're doing the best that they can. this is one of the warming centers that has been set up at an elementary school. the red cross here. we've only seen a handful of people come and check in. pg&e says that they're working hard on this outage. but it looks like it will last all night. these discovery bay neighbors all gather in the garage to watch football. tonight they watched and warmed up outside in the driveway with a fire pit. the house has no gas heat. >> there is no gas. we took out the fire pit. and we all had christmas leftover dinners and heated up in the microwave and ate here. >> reporter: inside electric heaters are plugged. in while pg&e has about 200

workers out trying to restore service. some have shut off valves for safety. so no excess gas gets into homes after a disruption affected 6200 customers. >> around sunday morning at 1:00 a.m., we detected a loss of pressure at our gas facilities in discovery bay. we do believe that this is related to the low and cold temperatures in the area. although we are currently still investigating the actual cause. >> reporter: pg&e notified their customers and opened a warming center at timber point elementary school. the red cross set up cots. michael o'connell brought his kids. >> we're aude all huddled in one room. so we've got a little portable heater that we're using right now. >> reporter: he hope issing to go home. he noticed this morning the gas heater and stove just weren't working. >> we're just frustrated because wearily -- it's cold. >> reporter: for many tonight, the plan, bundle up and plug. in. >> it's a toasty 75 degrees in our house right now because of the space heaters. that's why they're all here,

yeah. so we'll just have those and lots of blankets. >> reporter: and back here live for the elementary school, the location of the warming center is in the back. we're told a second warming center is opened up at the discovery bay community center on discovery bay boulevard. again, at this point an exact time when the service will be restored. pg&e says they just don't have a time right now. reporting live in discovery bay, christie smith, nbc bay area news. >> all right, christie. thanks very much. first freezing low temperatures and now we've got the rain. check out the frost we caught in san jose earlier this morning. talking about the freezing temperatures. the coldest recorded temperature 26 degrees in the southeast part of san jose. tonight it's all about scattered showers. meteorologist anthony slaughter joining us now to tell us where the rain is right now. >> in fact, we're seeing showers right now just south of san francisco. right near the airport and it spins all the way down tao threw the peninsula. half moon bay seeing showers and

over near campbell and willow glen start to make its way into san jose. a lot of this activity will be spotty overnight. it will move out just in time for sunrise. if you're an early morning commuter, 4:00, 5:00, we'll run it through some slick roadways. tonight 30 degrees in santa rosa. 41 in san francisco after 34 this morning. so not as cold. but it will still be chilly. 35 in concord. 34 in livermore and 36 in san jose. we do have the potential of picking up a little bit of rain-snow mix across parts of our higher elevations down to 2,000 feet. the oakland hills, skyline boulevard, if you're doing any traveling there tonight, keep in mind you could run into a mix of rain and snow. we'll talk about when this rain moves out and when we'll see warmer temperatures coming up in my next forecast. >> thanks very much. you talked about snow. take a look at snow coming to the sierra. storms expected to drop a few more inches overnight and on into the morning that is on top of the couple of feet that many areas got over the past week. and you can keep track of the

rain, the cold and the snow. download our nbc bay area app. there you can get your personalized weather forecast. well, disturbing video of a woman in fairfield throwing a dog to the ground so hard that the dog rolled across the cement. we want to warn you that the video is disturbing. dana griffin from our sister station in sacramento has more now on this video that has captured national attention. >> a neighbor caught this video showing a woman identified by police as brandi chin, carrying her dog by the collar and tossing him into the street at her ex-boyfriend. we spoke to her ex-boyfriend. she said it was the heat of the moment kind of thing. why did she lose her cool? >> me and her were arguing about some personal things and got blown up into something else. and i think maybe just got out of hand. >> reporter: he tells us he had never seen her the anything like this before. >> she is not an animal abuser. she has never abused animals

when i was with her. >> reporter: one neighbor says otherwise. i talked to the man who shot the video. he said this isn't the first time he witness the woman abuse her dog. he is just glad this time he caught it on camera. the video was posted on social media and it has been seen by over 4,000 people, some of whom called police. animal service officers responded to the calls and spent hours looking for chin and her dog. >> i know the dog is fine because i had the dog for a while. i don't know where she is at or how to get ahold of her. >> reporter: and he isn't alone. after talking to chin's friends, police say she left the city. >> they have said that somebody took her there and dropped her off in vallejo. so we're following that lead. plus we're still looking here in town. >> we'll certainly keep you posted on that story. also new at 11:00, investigators are wait fog find out how a vacaville man ended up dead in a creek tonight. the body was found in the alamo creek about 5:00 this evening. this is a residential area off

the bike lane road. they know the man's identity and that he is 28 years old. they have reached out to his family, but so far are not releasing the man's name to the public. no weapons were found. they don't believe that foul play was involved, and that residents should not be concerned for their safety. a man is under arrest tonight after a fight at a restaurant in walnut creek. and police are asking for your help in this one. it happened at mel's diner on main street. police say last sunday about 2:00 in the morning, officers found one person inside the restaurant seriously injured. and they arrested this man. 24-year-old bryce halliday on suspension of battery. police watched surveillance video from the diner and think there may be witnesses. and they're asking those witnesses to please come forward to help with the investigation. an attack at a california mosque. tonight the muslim community is once again calling for accountability after this latest incident. we told you yesterday someone threw a molotov cocktail at a mosque in tracy. it ignited a fire.

chuck coppola joining was the latest on what happened. >> fortunately no one was injured with the molotov cocktail. it was thrown over a gate and crashed into a doorway. workers were not working and that makes it more difficult to find the person responsible for the attack. muslim civil rights groups say the broken bottle thrown some time saturday in the charred doorway are clear pieces of evidence of a hate crime. >> i was actually astonished. because i've been living in tracy for 16 years. and we've never had any incidents basically for me it's a hate crime. >> we never called the sheriff's department. >> reporter: the repercussions extend beyond tracy. sunday's alameda's islamic center gathered bay area religious leaders to denounce a series of incidents since the san bernardino shootings. the incidents include a white powder mailed to the chapter of an islamic civil rights groups. fires on mosques in houston, southern california and alameda's center.

>> there has been rhetoric going on in our country in the last month or so. and unfortunately some political candidates and people making inflammatory statements about muslims to keep people out of the country. it's unacceptable. >> the council on american islamic relations, a civil rights group with the chapter in santa clara says the incident in tracy is the latest of more than 70 incidents at mosques in america this year. chuck coppola, nbc bay area news. >> thank you so much. well, for the second time in just a week, a southwest airlines flight had to make an unexpected landing at oakland airport tonight. southwest flight 1665 took off from sacramento about 3:00 this afternoon. the plane was supposed to go to denver. but once in the air, the pilot discovered a mechanical problem on board. the plane had to circle for two hours to burn off fuel. this is the flight path that that lane was taking. this is from flight aware. you see the flight spent most of its time above yuba city before

safely landing at oakland international. on wednesday a different southwest flight had to make an emergency landing as well. take a look at this video here. this is from our chopper. as the plane landed safely, it was supposed to go to chicago but had trouble with landing gear. still to come, tragedy in texas. 11 people killed. hundreds of homes flattened after a severe round of storms. an upclose look at the damage. a struggle to keep the streets clean across the bay area, but not in oakland. how just one man is making this possible. plus, what to do now with that christmas tree. one word, goats. how these farm animals are helping recycle christmas leftovers. we're still tracking showers as they roll overhead. tonight you may even see a little bit of snow mixed in if you live in the higher elevations. we'll talk about this system and what you can expect for the week ahead, coming up in the full microclimate forecast. search, rescue and recovery

crews spent the day picking through demolished homes around dallas - counting up the toll of a tragedy on a massive scale. search and rescue and recovery crews spent the day picking through demolished homes. this all around dallas. they are now counting a toll of the tragedy here on a massive

scale. the latest estimates put the number of damaged homes at 1400 in the area. it was slammed on saturday night by a deadly outbreak of tornadoes. brian mooar explains why the threat isn't over. across a huge swath of suburban dallas, residents are struggling to pick up the pieces. survivors but still victims of a monster storm and the massive tornadoes it unleashed. >> we built the house 28 years. sorry. i don't know what i'm supposed to say. i'm sorry. >> reporter: at least 20 twisters tore across north texas, killing eight in the community of garland. and the lone star state is still on edge. with more waves of severe weather on the way. while some areas hunkered down for heavy rains and flooding, areas of oklahoma and texas were paralyzed by icy roads and the

threat of whiteout blizzard. in missouri where at least eight lives were lost to widespread flooding, rapidly rising water overwhelmed residents. >> it came up very quickly. >> reporter: and kept rescue crews working overtime. >> the first thing i knew how to swim. i knew it was real. i knew it was real when if rescue team came. they put us on the line and escorted us down the road. >> reporter: for many americans, the holiday weekend of hardship with more foul weather on the horizon. brian mooar, nbc news. >> a tough situation there. but also in missouri, the governor there has declared a state of emergency. and that is because of this widespread incredibly heavy flooding. heavy rain there turns many roads into rivers, making them impassible. creeks and streams crested, flooding neighborhoods nearby. residents say the water rose quickly. and authorities spent the weekend rescuing people in boats and evacuating flooded areas. at least 11 people were killed this weekend there. and the worst may not be over

because more heavy rain is expected. expect to see bicycles circling san francisco international airport. paramedics will be riding around on them because of super bowl 50. the airport is expecting a lot more travelers during that time. and in a large crowd, the bicycles make it easier for paramedics to get to an emergency scene faster. the paramedics are in training right now learning how to navigate in and around the terminals. super bowl 50 will take place february 7th at levi's stadium in santa clara. the way city budgets are stretched these days, sometimes it's challenging just to keep the streets clean. one oakland neighborhood doesn't seem to have that problem, thanks to the incredible dedication of just one man. garvin thomas has the story as part of our bay area proud series. >> reporter: with the exception of a stint in the navy, michael has spent his entire life living a stone's throw from oakland's piedmont avenue. he has seen many changes to the streets over the decades,

although one change he can take particular pride in. if you take the time to stop and listen, you'll notice early mornings in the city have a different sound than the rest of the day. it's true along oakland's piedmont avenue, though here there is one noise that is distinct from almost anywhere else. that would be the sound of dedication created by michael liden's broom and dust pan. every tuesday and thursday morning you will find michael walking up and down piedmont avenue, removing every little thing that doesn't belong on piedmont avenue. >> here is an interesting thing here. all these cigarette butts. some guy up there throws them out the window. geez. >> reporter: it is certainly a nice thing for a 70-year-old retired man to do for his neighborhood. it is a remarkable mission when

you learn how long he has been doing it. >> he is 79. >> that would be 36 years. >> that's okay. don't pass out. i know i'm a young looking man. morning. >> reporter: michael says the sweeping started when he began helping his retired father maintain the grounds of a nearby church. michael noticing only then just how littered the streets were. >> so i went on the way back after helping him. i would clean the stuff up. and that's really -- it's kind of started that way. and, you know, time moves on. and i'm still sweeping. >> reporter: early on, it didn't take long for the local merchants association to notice just how clean michael's part of the avenue looked. so they asked him to start a program paying people to sweep five days a week. michael did, keeping a couple days for himself, though, but not taking a cent for the work.

>> i'm just doing what i'm doing here. if there is a lesson in this for all of us, though, it might just be that sometimes the simplest of tasks can make you the biggest of neighborhood heroes. >> god bless you. >> have a good day. >> okay. >> okay. >> reporter: in oakland, garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> amazing endeavor there. don't you want to get ahead of the guy who is throwing the cigarettes outside the window? >> ask him to stop. >> hopefully he sees this story. >> if he sees it, he'll back off. >> anthony slaughter standing by. looking a the forecast tonight, we have chilly folks in the east bay. >> it's going to be another cold night. we're talking about temperatures book is the 30s across most of the bay areas. it's going to be chilly no doubt. we don't have any freeze warnings. but we're still talking about temperatures that are going to be in the mid-30s. it's going to be cold. we do have showers rolling through the bay area right now. really the outer sunset down through the peninsula. heavier showers near redwood

city and palo alto. showers will continue on and off through the overnight hours and beal done with this activity by the time we get done with sunrise. tomorrow's forecast does bring in sunshine. it's going to stay chilly. 50s for daytime highs, right here 50 for the east bay. 51 for san francisco and 52 for the south bay. so as we move through the day tomorrow, we are going to continue to see that cold air move on in. but we are going to see disturb. the cold front moves thought time for sunrise. overnight we'll see on and off showers. a lot of the stuff is going to be very light. we're not really taking about any rain. the early risers for 4:00, 5:00, not expecting to see heavy rain. but the ground will be wet. and light showers are possible. by the time we get to 7:00, skies clear out and we'll wake up to sunshine as we head towards 8:00, 9:00. san jose back to 51 degrees after a very chilly start. 52 for pacifica tomorrow. san francisco right near 50 degrees. pretty much most of the day climbing through the 40s. over near the tri-valleys

expecting plenty of sunshine for livermore. 51 degrees there. the cold front moves through today. we're done with that. by the time we get into tomorrow, tuesday, and wednesday, we'll stay in this northwesterly flow. by wednesday and thursday, another cold system is going dive south. unfortunately, it's not going bring us any rain. but it's going to make way for high pressure. and that's going to settle in for friday, saturday and sunday of next weekend. that's going to mean another spell of some very cold temperatures. we're talking widespread 20s by the time we get into 2016. as we move towards the next couple of days, temperatures do moderate a little bit by wednesday and thursday. close to 60 degrees across parts of the south bay. even the tri-valley will see temperature close to 60 by thursday and friday. as i mentioned, friday the next system is going the move in. high pressure building in. that's going leave for a very chilly start. new year's eve forecast, there it is. if you're headed to the embarcadero in san francisco, keep those jackets handy. it's going to be chilly. we're talking about temperatures in the mid-40s. and that's for san francisco. you know those inland valleys always get chillier. we could be looking at

temperatures by new year's eve staying put near freezing. so bundle up. back to you guys. >> thanks very much. it's going keep the champagne cold. >> that's true. >> that's the plus side. >> always looking on the bright side. still to come, a new year means new laws to tell you about, from taking uber to use the changes you need to know starting january 1. plus, goats hungry for christmas trees you. might be surprised to learn how quickly these san francisco eating machines can gobble up your christmas leftovers.

here in vineland, new jersey where progresso light soups are made,

we'll never give up our cheddar, our cream, and especially our bacon. so we figured out a way to add rich ingredients like this into 22 light soups, all with 100 calories or less per serving. so if you want to eat light and not give up rich flavor, do what we do...make it progresso.

at the d-m-v. ==chyron== starting the new year is almost upon us, and so are some new law, epithet dmv. starting january 1, the california new motor voter act

guess into effect. anyone over 18 who applies future a driver's license, id card or submits a change of address address will be registered to vote. also starting next year, it will be illegal to wear ear buds or headsets while driving a car or riding a bicycle. and ride share companies like uber and lyft will have to routinely review driving programs to identify if they have violations on their records. looking to get rid of that christmas tree? it's almost about time. you could consider feeding to it the goats. some happy goats right there. that's called city grazing. this is in san francisco. and they're giving people a new way to recycle their christmas trees. >> a near riot going on there. >> look at that. they're so excited. all you have to do is drop off your bare tree, that's important and take the ornaments and hooks and such. you have to take those off. you take to it the business's location in bayview where they

have 80 goats on the grounds. and they will eat that tree right up. >> goats love to eat. it doesn't matter really what it is. they kind of pounce on it as fast as they can. it allows us to give them a little variation in their diets since this is a slow time of year for them. >> how about this? it takes a goat only 15 minutes to eat the entire tree. >> i'd like to see that. >> i know. >> they go through about 20 trees a day. this is what it looks like after they're done. just the remnant there's. you can drop off your streets on week ended until january 29th between noon and 4:00 p.m. finally finding justice. coming up next, a grieving widow gets some answers after her husband died at a postal facility right here in the bay area. and 'tis the season for drunk drivers. the shocking number of arrests that have been made since christmas. and then making serious progress. how firefighters were able to stop a rare winter wildfire and save homes in southern california. getting some answers. not just

answers -- but money. prompted by our invti a grieving widow is finally getting some answer, and not just answers, but money, prompted by our investigation, the federal government is now responding to this local woman. >> investigative reporter vicky nguyen first exposed this story last year. it spurred national changes at the postal service. >> reporter: the final chapter in an absolutely tragic story for larni. she got the agency to change its 911 rules. then she took on the office of workers compensation. it was a fight every step of the way, but now we are happy to report she has found justice. >> he must be proud of me. >> reporter: tears of joy for larni in the wake of her husband's death. last week we aired this report detailing how the office of

worker's comp twice denied her claim for death benefits. the next morning the office reopened and reviewed her claims and called her attorney to say it's been approved. >> what? it was absolutely amazing. it was -- it was as if they had watched the tv show, the newscast the night before and they reacted to it. >> reporter: more than a year and a half after her husband sam died from a severe head injury he suffered during his shift at this postal facility in oakland, the government is now agreeing to pay larni's family a portion of sam's annual salary every year. >> this is the first time it has ever happened. the judges don't reverse themselves. and it took a director in washington to review the decision here in san francisco. >> reporter: our investigation revealed that from the start, the coroner's investigator found that a fall along with landing on concrete likely caused the severe trauma to sam's head that led to his death. >> when it's an unexplained fall, or unexplained condition

and there is no medical evidence to the contrary, then it's a proven claim and they have to pay the claim. >> reporter: her attorney claimed his job often included climbing manrey and they speculate he was on top of the machine before he fell. >> there is no witness, but something must have happened to him. >> reporter: we obtained a copy of the decision. it reads in part compensation as a result of his work-related death should be processed. the office declined our interview requests but e-mailed to say when the program became aware of the denial of benefits, the director ordered a review of testified. >> it is a christmas miracle for them, it absolutely. there is no doubt. it never happens like this. >> i'm thankful for nbc, for helping us out and supporting us for this fight. and also to the -- to cory and also for my family. who has been very supportive,

everybody has been like believing that we will win this. >> reporter: this investigation began with a tip and it ended with national policy changes, and this wrong made right. guys? >> thank you so much, vicky. well, if you have a tip for our investigative unit, give us a call at 1-888-996-tips. you can also send an e-mail to the unit at nbcbayarea.com. a developing story in chicago tonight where police are under scrutiny for opening fire and killing two people. the victims a 55-year-old mother of five caught in the crossfire and a 19-year-old college student. this happened early yesterday morning, according to the chicago "sun-times." the teenager's father called police after finding his son banging honda bedroom door with a baseball shot. >> they were confronted by a combative individual resulting in an officer firing shots. >> seven times my son was shot.

and one in the buttocks. that showed that he was turning away. >> the teen's mother said her son developed a mental illness, but was not violent. the mayor of chicago is calling for a review in how officers respond to mental health crisis. there is more progress in the winter wildfire that is burning in california. the 1200 acre fire is burning near ventura. it is now 75% contained. it was sparked by a power line that was knocked down during a windstorm. how many are now switching to cleanup mode. >> reporter: this morning's cleanup effort a welcome sight for homeowners who just a day earlier were facing this in their backyard, prompting the emergency vaccine of nearly 100 homes along pacific coast highway north of ventura, california. >> the fire was about 30 feet from my parents' house. >> it was pretty scary. >> reporter: dry conditions and a gusty santa ana winds fuelling the flame. this incredible video shot by

tourists from the netherlands. the family of five had just seen a lakers game and were driving to santa barbara when they found themselves surrounded. >> i was like this is my last minute of life. it felt like an hour, really. but yeah, in the end it was only a few seconds. >> reporter: this morning firefighters say the flames were spark bade downed power line, knocked over in a windstorm. >> we will not leave until we know that every last ember has been extinguished. >> reporter: their quick response being applauded by residents like darryl. his home of 47 years saved. >> i have a lot of confidence in these guys. they said there was something like 500 firefighters on the job. and they did a beautiful job of containing it so it didn't run away from them. >> reporter: nbc news, ventura, california. 'tis the season for drunk driving, apparently. the chp is cracking down on drivers impaired behind the wheel, and they busted a lot of people. it's kind of amazing. since christmas eve, officers

have made 600 dui arrests in california. 150 of those happened in the first six hours of the crackdown. san mateo county is often doing its own enforcement. police say they have made 85 arrests so far. that is 29 more than last year. we keep saying don't drink and drive. i know we get tired of saying it, but apparently we need to say it more. >> buzzed driving is drunk driving. we do want to check in with henry wofford. a lot of people talking about the 49ers who wanted a different result today. >> we definitely did, peggy and terry. however, we got the same results. this is a team that is struggling right now. we have all the highlights coming up for you. the 49ers are looking for something positive to hang their hats on before the 2015 season is over. but after speeding out to an early lead, jim tomsula's squad hit the brakes and sputtered in the motor city.

all your highlights and postgame interviews are coming up after the break. the 49ers this season... and

most of their problems welcome back to nbc bay area. not much has gone right for the 49ers this season. and most of their problems have come on the road where they have only one win. so how would the 49ers fare in the motor city? we've got your highlights for you. 49ers seeking their second road win of the season in motown. getting pumped up for the lions. second quarter, lions up three. blaine gabbert finds torrey smith for a 16-yard touchdown. 49ers on top. but the next 49ers drive, gabbert is sacked. and he fumbles.

bad place to fumble. the lions have the ball on the 49ers' 1 yard line. the very next play. joyce bell would punch it in with no problems at all. so the lions take a three-point lead. jump to the fourth quarter now. lions up six. matthew stafford, their quarterback finds alvin johnson. touchdown lions. and that would be plenty for detroit. 49ers lose 32-17. >> i think the biggest thing is we've got to put a complete game together. we proved to ourselves that we can start fast. but the biggest thing is we have to execute better in the second half and continue to fight. we have one game left. we're not going to the play-offs. but what we're looking for as a team is to continue to get better day in and day out and go get a win next week. >> we're just trying to finish the season, you know. for the same amount of effort that went into this season with. not really opinion on the game. just want to finish strong.

let's bounce over to basketball. the warriors steph curry tweaked his calf on christmas day. he was able to return and says he is ready to go monday against sacramento when he faces his younger brother. here is the reigning mvp on his injury. >> when i'm out there, i don't feel. you feel the pain, but you don't really worry about it when you're trying to make moves and you're in the heat of the action. try to block it out as much as i can. i don't know how much it does affect the result. but mentally when you're out there, you can't worry about compensating or anything like that. hopefully tomorrow i'll be pain-free and be ready to go. very sad news from the baseball diamond. former a's outfielder dave enderson died sunday morning after suffering a heart attack.

he had been dealing with kidney issues for the past few years and received a kidney transplant just a month ago. also known as hendu. he played 14 seasons in the majors. he had a huge role in the a's 1989 championship team. dave henderson is survived by his son chase and trent and his wife nancy. henderson was only 57 years old. and a picture right there of dave henderson. he was always smiling. beautiful smile. but once he got on that diamond, he was all about business. he will definitely be missed. and he was a fan favorite in oakland that will do it, terry and peggy. we'll do it again tomorrow. >> that sounds good. henry. much too young. >> thanks very much. coming up, if you never get sick, there may be one specific reason why. we're going to tell you what it is, up next. many people start the new year

by vowing to lose a little weight. now, well, it's almost that time of year again what when many people start the new year by vowing to lose a little bit of weight. now there is another reason to consider adding hitting the gym to this year's new year's resolution. nbc's stephanie gosk shows us why. >> you guys are great! >> reporter: abby efron says she never gets sick, rarely gets a cold and has never had the flu. >> i came from working a 9 to 5 job where i was sitting in a

cubicle for many hours every single day. this transition has helped me become a healthier and more well rounded individual. >> reporter: scientists say all that exercise can actually be helping her fight disease. >> the signs on the immune are dramatic. exercise can cause huge albeit transient changes in the immune system. >> reporter: richard simpson studies health and human performance at this lab at the university of houston. he says his research has found that people who do moderate exercise, that means hitting the gym three to four times a week for 20 to 30 minutes have stronger immune system. >> their immune cells are better at recognizing killing cancer cells. they also respond better to viral infections and their ability to recognize bacteria and eliminate that bacteria is improved. >> reporter: here is what simpson's study shows. when we exercise, our blood becomes flush with immune cells, about three or four times more than usual. when we stop exercising, the body often uses those extra

cells to fight off invading germs. another study from south korean scientists found repeated exercise repeatedly stresses the body and that helps refine the immune system, making it more effective. scientists say any amount of exercise is of benefit. that's why abby continues to inspire her cycle class. >> i think it's really important. get moving, listening to yourself, but also getting in a good workout. >> reporter: stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> you working out? you are working out. >> i need to. this is a great story here. the largest cargo ship to ever visit the united states is headed to the port of oakland. take a look. the benjamin franklin, 1300 feet long. and can hold up to 18,000 of those large shipping containers. the ship launched from china last month. they're expected to arrive at

the port on new year's eve and to get the full scope, check this out. here it is compared to a semitruck. big on the road, not big to this. an even better perspective. take a look at the ship compared to a jet. and finally, how about a ship compared to an aircraft carrier? it's still bigger. it is still bigger. it's four times longer than a football field. >> might even be worth heading down to the port of oakland to check that out. >> you'll have a long time because it will take a long time. >> to get in there. a lot of material, merchandise gets here. meteorologist anthony slaughter is standing by with the microclimate forecast. so many people looking at the temperatures. bitter cold. >> another chilly night. we've got some showers to throw in the mix as well. you can see we've got the radar fired up. and the green you see here, that's the light rain moving through the area. the heavier cells across the south bay right now right over sunnyvale and another cell over downtown san jose south of downtown actually.

now you'll notice those temperatures tonight are going to be chilly once again. 30 is where we're headed in santa rosa. 37 in oakland. 41 in san francisco and san jose down to 36 degrees. now once we get rid of the showers tomorrow morning, we will see a bright day to the afternoon. back to 50 degrees. 51 in san francisco for tomorrow. you can even see the ground is wet there across the golden gate bridge. so you will run into a wet tomorrow morning. but showers are expected to clear out just in time for sunrise. here is the futurecast if you want to put this into motion and show what we're expecting overnight. on and off showers. by 4:00 or 5:00, that's when it will start to exit the regions. by 6:00, 7:00, sunshine once the sun does come up. a few clouds in the area. once we head through the day, we'll see a bright day. your microclimate forecast does bring sunday back up to 51 degrees. for tomorrow, 50 for san mateo. even palo alto at 51 degrees. same deal for san francisco. the embarcadero for ocean beach. mill valley there as well.

concord 51. livermore 51 as well. so you get the picture. it's going to be cold tomorrow. and we're only going to top out right near 50 degrees. this cold front, it's out of here tonight. moves out for the next couple days. another system by wednesday. that's going to dive south and reinforce the cold air. so as we start to climb back closer to 60, by friday, well, next weekend we're going dip back into the 50s. and then morning lows back into the 20s. so it is not done just yet. at least the winter season just getting going this past week. here yes the official kickoff of the full week of winter. it's going to stay chilly the next couple of days. thursday and friday we do start to warm up just a little bit. closer to 60 degrees in the south bay. even the east bay valley close to 60 degrees. as we mentioned, it's going to be chilly, even if you're making plans for new year's eve. definitely want to make sure you dress in layers. at least we won't have to deal with the fog this year. it's going to be chilly at the embarcadero. 45 degrees as we ring in the new year on thursday.

and that in san francisco, you know it's going to be colder in the inland valleys. so terry, peggy, if you're going to be out thursday night, remember, bundle up. because we're not done yet. >> you're not kidding. it's going to be cold. >> the 60s on friday is going to feel really nice. >> balmy. looking forward to that. coming up, peyton manning accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. >> now the broncos quarterback is firing back. his explanation for the story he told an undercover reporter. this holiday season is tough for

thousands of military well, this holiday season is very tough for thousands of military families. about 10,000 u.s. troops will have to remain in afghanistan through most of 2016. and a smaller group will stay even longer than that. but for many of the service member, it's not the first time that they've been separated from their loved ones or even the second. nbc's kate snow showed us how one family is torn apart year after year. >> reporter: christmas day was a

little tough this year for the froehlich family, another holiday season without their dad. >> it breaks my heart. it's just sad because ow know it's hard on them. but he's got to do what we signed up for. >> reporter: what he signed up for was a career in the army. 19 years now and out of those 19, he spent nine away from the family. when the president announced more deployments to afghanistan for 2016, wade's unit was on that list. >> froehlich? >> here. >> reporter: a chief warrant officer he departed for afghanistan in october for the third time in five years. >> i love you. >> i love you. >> don't worry. i'll be okay. >> reporter: we followed the family at fort drum this fall as they prepared for yet another deployment, the sixth of his career. multiple deployments are routine now for military families. as many as 700,000 have serve in order than one tour. >> i can train all day long.

it doesn't bother me. but not having the family to go home to, that's difficult. it never goes away. >> reporter: so before he left, he tried to squeeze in as much family time as possible. cheering at his youngest son's football games. >> travis is happy. >> reporter: a final pizza dinner together. >> you know, you're going to miss things. but they know i love them. and even if i'm 10,000 miles away, i'm still there for them. >> reporter: in afghanistan, chief froehlich is supervising food service, feeding the soldiers on christmas day. he plans to spend at least a few more years in the army. he likes his job. >> what we really get paid to do is defend the nation. so that's what we go to do. so that -- that's what i'm used to, knowing that's my job. >> reporter: the boys say they pitch in more around the house when wade is gone. travis is a senior and hoping his dad will get a leave to come home for his high school graduation. >> it's not just oh, he is away

and they miss him. it's he's away and you lost a part of your family for that amount of time. >> special thanks to him and all the troops out there, of course. well, denver broncos quarterback peyton manning vehemently denying doping allegations. >> disgusted is really how i feel. sickened by that -- i'm not sure i understand how someone can make something up about somebody. admit that he has made it up, and yet somehow he is published in a story. >> that reaction comes after an al jazeera documentary claiming that a man by the name of charlie sly who claimed to be a pharmacist had supplied the performance enhancing substance to manning. sly later denied having done that saying he made up the whole story. >> look at how emotional he is too, talking about that. well, coming up next the force very strong at the box

office. >> the major record "star wars: the force awakens" just accomplished. ==peggy/2shot== "star wars: the

force awakens" has reached one billion in box office sales -- faster than any more records smashed. >> no one is surprised by this really. we're talking about "star wars." "the force awakens" has reached $1 billion faster than any other film in history. >> live long enough to see the same eyes with different people. >> he looks fantastic. reaching the mark after only 12 days in the theaters. a billion dollars after only 12 days. thinking isn't the only record the movie has shattered. it has also made the biggest debut weekend ever recorded. bringing in $238 million. it also broke a record on

christmas day. $49.3 million in ticket sales. the movie is truly out of this world. >> yes, i think you can say it is a hit, that's for sure. checking in. how are we going do on the overnight temperatures? >> another cold night. tomorrow more sunshine. a little warmer. that's going to make way for a warmer week. i'm talking relatively warmer because at least we'll be closer to 60 by the time we get towards friday. the fist full day of 2016. >> i can't believe it. thanks, anthony. thanks for joining us tonight. >> have a great night and a great week. take care. ♪

today's guest is one of the greatest competitors and leaders in the history of the nhl and any other sport. won five stanley cups between 84 and 90 and another n with the rangeers in 94. the first player to captain two teams to the championship. he received the highest distinction in his first y